Sunday Mornings at Potomac Baptist
Tucked along Lowes Island Boulevard in Potomac Falls, Virginia, Potomac Baptist Church (PBC) has built its identity around a simple question: "Is there more to church?" The answer the congregation gives is a steady "yes." Worshipers are not spectators here. Sunday morning begins with a worship service at 9:30 AM, followed by Connect Groups at 11:00 AM, and the building stays busy from greeters at the front doors to classes meeting down the hall.
Worship is livestreamed each Sunday at 9:30 AM on YouTube for those who cannot attend in person. Inside the sanctuary, the atmosphere is intentionally relational. Greeters stand at the entrance every Sunday to help newcomers find their way, and the worship service is followed by small-group Bible study hour so that the people in the pews have a chance to go deeper together rather than simply dispersing after the final song.
Raising the Next Generation
Children's Ministry at PBC opens with a line from Psalm 127:3 ("Children are a gift from the Lord"), and the conviction shapes everything that follows. Nursery care, Sunday School, and a program called Connect Kids come alongside parents during both the 9:30 AM worship hour and the 11:00 AM Connect Group hour, with the goal of laying scriptural foundations early. The ministry points families to Deuteronomy 6 and 2 Timothy 3 as anchors for what they teach.
For sixth through twelfth graders, the student ministry is called CORE, short for City of Refuge. It is meant to be exactly what the name suggests: a place of safety from the social pressures of school, where teenagers can hear the truth of Scripture, serve their community, play games, and eat together. Middle schoolers meet Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:45 PM; high schoolers meet Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:15 PM. There is also a Sunday morning Connect Group from 11:00 AM to noon, and a biweekly high school breakfast at Chick-fil-A in Sugarland Crossing on Thursdays from 8:15 to 9:00 AM during the school year.
Men, Women, and Young Adults
The men's ministry grounds itself in Ephesians 5, John 12, James 1, and 1 Peter 3, with a vision of equipping men for servant leadership in their homes, church, workplaces, and community. A variety of Bible studies run throughout the year, an accountability and discipleship culture undergirds the group, and a men's breakfast typically gathers on the fourth Saturday of each month. Each fall the men also retreat together for a dedicated weekend away.
The women's ministry hangs on Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God." Bible studies meet in homes and at the church, alternating between in-house and off-site annual retreats, and lighter summer gatherings including a pool party, a Christmas in July party, and a book club. The tone is steady and scriptural: women walking through hard seasons together, learning to fix their eyes on Christ rather than their circumstances.
Young adults ages 18 to 29 meet on Tuesdays at 6:30 PM at the Newell home for dinner, Bible study, and fellowship, with periodic outings layered on top. Youth Pastor Tom Newell leads the group.
From Potomac Falls to Lake Malawi and the Slums of Kampala
Missions are woven into the fabric of the church. The stated goal is straightforward: "to carry out the great commission" of Matthew 28:19-20. Members are encouraged to go on short-term trips (PBC's motto is "Short-term missions building long-term relationships"), and the church supports Southern Baptist Convention foreign missions as well as a number of specific missionaries and agencies.
The longest-standing partnership is with Dean Kershner and Gospelink. Since 2008, PBC has co-labored with Kershner in Malawi, sponsoring pastors' conferences, constructing buildings, providing equipment, and sending teams to the Agricultural Training Center on Lake Malawi. That center, which Kershner organized in 2006, has grown food enough to reach financial stability and houses an orphanage overseen by national Malawian Christians. PBC has also sent more than 100 members and friends over the years to support the national pastors and their wives.
Congregation members also serve through One Challenge with Karl and Jenny Teichert, through Send International with Joel and Elaine Loewen, and through Hope Alive!, a relief and development project started by Catharine Coon in 2002 that works with orphans and fragile families in the slums of Kampala, around Masaka in southwestern Uganda, near the Sudanese border, and around Gulu in northern Uganda. Hope Alive! partners with local churches to share the gospel, meet physical needs, and break cycles of poverty, with a new community school and agricultural training center planned on the outskirts of Gulu. The church also partners with Gideons International and supports summer youth mission trips, including cooperative work in the Dakotas.
What PBC Believes and How It Is Led
PBC holds to traditional Baptist convictions, with baptism and the Lord's Supper among the practices given a place of importance. The church is led by Senior Pastor Matthew Dupuy and Youth Pastor Tom Newell. Office Manager Jamie You supports the ministry team. Four elders, William Thayer, Wes Rihani, Chris Thulin, and Jeff Malcolm, provide spiritual oversight, and six deacons, Jim Whitehead, Brian James, Paul Williams, Brian Offhaus, Jon Martuneac, and Steve Lette, serve the congregation.
Visiting Potomac Baptist Church
First-time guests are warmly expected. Attire ranges from very casual to traditional formal; modesty and reverence are the only guidelines. Arriving about ten minutes before the service gives time to park in the designated Guest Parking on the right side of the front lot and to be greeted at the front doors. Restrooms sit immediately to the left and right of the entrance, and the sanctuary is straight ahead. Worship is at 9:30 AM, Connect Groups at 11:00 AM, and the entire Sunday is designed so that a visitor can be known by name before heading home.